[Verse 1]
Many fine places I used to call home
From Tulsa to Houston to Old San Antone
Had my share of good women, loved more than a few
But there sure ain’t no hurting, like the Birmingham Blues

[Verse 2]
Armful of memories I try to forget
Little Rock Annie and Galveston Bette
There’s Kate from Atlanta, Mae from Santa Cruz
I’m inking my way to the Birmingham Blues

[Chorus]
Can’t change the past when life’s moving along
When you can’t figure out what’s right or what’s wrong
Drop a white to get right, and a red to get loose
Jack whiskey and tequila and the Birmingham Blues

[Verse 3]
West to Oklahoma, East to Baton Rouge
Just ride on that Seahorse, whatever you do
The market is calling for West Texas crude
While sinners are crying the Birmingham Blues

[Verse 4]
I’m a roughneck from nowhere, tripping pipe, living fast
A company man buried inside a glass
So line ‘em up, barkeep, and fill ‘em with booze
I’m drinking my way to the Birmingham Blues

[Chorus]
Can’t change the past when life’s moving along
When you can’t figure out what’s right or what’s wrong
Drop a white to get right and a red to get loose
Jack whiskey and tequila and the Birmingham Blues

512 West 24
Lyrics by John Fleming

[Verse 1]
Nicotine schemes and magazines
Scattered on the floor
Broadway grifters and rainbow hipsters
Waiting at the door
Chocolate cremes and limousines
Come and gone before
It’s where I’ve been and where I’m at
512 West 24

[Verse 2]
Wellesley losses to Jesus crosses
Champagne dreams to dope
Rubber hoses and liquid doses
Anything to cope
Sweeping bars to stealing cars
Run it up the rope
It’s where I’ve been and where I’m at
512 West 24

[Bridge]
A five-story walk-up ain’t the place to be
When Ashley’s living large somewhere in Beverly
Somewhere in Beverly

[Verse 3]
Life’s a ball when you have it all
Until it throws you for a loop
Baby’s crying and Spoony’s flying
Never got the scoop
Still making plans with Steely Dan
Playing on the juke
It’s where I’ve been and where I’m at
512 West 24
Lower the rent, turn up the thermostat
512 West 24

The Cost
Lyrics by John Fleming

[Verse 1]
What can I say when a tear doesn’t matter
What does it mean when a word doesn’t call
How should I feel when a look is a shadow
And all of the windows in the world seem so small

[Chorus]
There’s a hole in the sky that used to hold all my dreams
Now there are too many mountains and not enough streams
Heartache to heartbreak, losing to lost
Silent to silence, and causing to cost

[Verse 2]
Where does love hide when we’re looking for answers
To who holds the key and who holds the card
What keeps a memory when a heart is so empty
That finding a reason to go on seems so hard

[Chorus]
There’s a hole in the sky that used to hold all my dreams
Now there are too many mountains and not enough streams
Heartache to heartbreak, losing to lost
Silent to silence, and causing to cost

[Bridge]
Holding onto a lie never helps you get by
When the next day doesn’t matter
When gold turns to rust and faith to distrust
And all of your hopes lie in tatters

[Verse 3]
Whispered voices and long-ago choices
Keeps me a prisoner of the thoughts in my head
But one heart needs another to love and to cover
When sadness and sorrow are sharing a bed

[Chorus]
There’s a hole in the sky that used to hold all my dreams
Now there are too many mountains and not enough streams
Heartache to heartbreak, losing to lost
Silent to silence, and causing to cost